Basit Ali: “Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman don’t have a voice. How come they agreed to bat in the middle order?”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali feels Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman “don’t have a voice” after both were pushed down the order in the T20I team.
Azam and Zaman are top order batsmen with considerable experience opening in the shortest format, while Azam is also accustomed to batting at number three.
However, with Azam batting at number four and Zaman’s position changing regularly, Basit believes the pair lacked the authority to voice their opinions and demand a specific spot in the batting order.
“Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman don’t have a voice. How come they agreed to bat in the middle order? Babar should not have accepted the decision to bat at No. 4. If I were his close aide, I would have told him to refuse. You just threw him under the bus,” he said on the Game Plan show as quoted by NDTV.
Azam recently captained Pakistan in their two-Test series against the West Indies and scored 193 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 96.50.
He is now involved in the three-Test series against England, but missed the 1st Test in Leeds due to a finger injury.
Pakistan lost the 1st Test by an innings and 103 runs and will look to bounce back in the 2nd Test, which will begin on August 27 at Lord’s.
Pakistan Squad for England Test Series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel (subject to fitness), Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah